The Marshall Plan and Communism after World War 2 Essay

The Marshall Plan and Communism after World War 2 - Essay Example Historical facts are used for purposes of knowledge and understanding of past events to help explaining contemporary and future events. On this basis, research into finding the answers to the above question will add knowledge to historians and other interested stakeholders. In addition, the information obtained will enable historians and other stakeholders in explaining contemporary and future communism. Such facts are provided within the analysis and conclusion of the paper. Section B: Summary of Evidence Communism is the economic and social system where property and resources are collectively owned and controlled by classless society. Marshall Plan (named after Secretary of State George Marshall) was intended to provide aid for fostering reconstruction of economies that had been destroyed by the World War II Between 1948 and 1951, US through the Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program, ERP) pumped money into Western Europe in order to spur redevelopment after the World War II Mars hall Plan was based on the dislocation of the entire European economy during the World War II Deteriorating European economies provided vistas for people to come together and own resources and production channels Main intention was to combat the spread of Soviet communism Goals of the Marshall Plan included: Rebuilding devastated region Removal of trade barriers Modernization of industry Making Europe prosperous again after the World War II Marshall’s success kept the Western Europe out of the communist bloc Economic weapons can be used in solving diplomatic problems Section C: Source Evaluation Ambrose, Stephen E. "The Presidency and Foreign Policy." Foreign Affairs 70.5 (1992): 120. In this article, Ambrose identifies some of the foreign policies employed by the US. Foreign policies are usually the guidelines that affect how a given nation interacts with other nations. This resource identifies the fact that Marshall Plan was developed out of the US foreign policies. The art icle provides the foundation of the plan making the research on the topic easier. Nonetheless, the article does not explicitly describe the Marshall Plan. Bernadette, Whelan. Ireland and the Marshall Plan 1947-1957. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2000. Print. Bernadette in her book attempts to describe how Ireland benefitted from the Marshal Plan that was in effect between 1947 and 1958. Notably, the book addresses very crucial point in respect to how communism was going to arise within Europe had there been no aid from the US. What’s more, this book attempts to describe how communist bloc was a major concern for the US given that they had just emerged victors in the Second World War. Such information is important in establishing effectiveness of the Marshall Plan in preventing communism within the Western Europe. However, the limitation of the book is that it fails to explicitly provide a description and evaluation of the effects of Marshall Plan on communism in Europe. Burk, Ka thleen. "The Marshall Plan: Filling in some of the Blanks." Contemporary European History 10.2 (2001): 267-94. In the journal of Contemporary European History, Burk’s article revolves around the Marshall Plan and how it attempted to reconstruct the European economy. Burk’s article identifies some of the ‘blanks’ that many historians have failed to identified for all this time. For instance, Burk claims